Motown Musical Characteristics PDF

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Samuel Jinadu

Music Homework

Motown Musical Characteristics: Motown is not a genre of music it is a record company. Motown was recognised as a genre as it became popular. Most of Motown songs have particular things in common. The drums in Motown are very specific to the genre. The normal time signature for Motown is 4/4. The snare drum in Motown play on beats 1, 2, 3 and 4. Whereas in most common music with the time signature 4/4, they play the snare drum on beats 2 and 4. This is effective because it git makes the song more lively that gives a listener a reason to dance. I personally like that the snare is played on all four beats as it makes the song fun and bubbly. The bass is usually very syncopated and off beat. The beat is very funky, often playing riffs and short repeated patterns. This is also very effective because it gets the listener to start dancing. I like the bass in Motown because it gets the listener to start dancing; I dislike the bass in Motown because it’s too repetitive. The Piano in Motown is normally playing simple chords. This is good as it keeps a solid background for the singers and keeps them singing on the right key. The Guitars in Motown play embellishments and little lead lines. They do not play the main part of the song. This is very good as it can make a song fuller with embellishments. I like the part guitars play in Motown as I like embellishments. Motown music normally have simple structures, this means most of their songs are verse chorus verse chorus middle 8 then chorus. Influences of Motown music: Motown is influenced by Gospel music a lot. They took the technique call and response that is usually used in Motown music. This is a very effective technique as it allows the song to become catchy. They took way the lyrics in gospel music though. ABC- Jackson 5 The song consists of many call and response this mostly when Michael Jackson say “Teachers gonna show you” then band responds by saying “show you show you” The Michael Jackson says “how to get an A” Then the band reply by saying “how to get an A”. This technique call and response is very effective as it makes the song catchy. The lyrics are all played in a pattern of 3. The instruments in this song are the vocalist, drum kit, bass guitar, electric guitar and the piano. The drum kit is playing a normal 4/4 drum beat. The kick is played on beat 1 and the snare is played on beats 3. In the intro Michael uses onomatopoeia saying “ba ba ba ba ba baaaaa” then he begins singing his solo. ABC is played on a major key this the song an happy vibe to the people listening to the song also the song is very upbeat and funky giving the listener a reason to dance. I like this song because the lyric is simple and unique. The vocals in this song are not very melismatic. I don’t like this as I would prefer if they sang complex lyrics. Bernadette- Four Tops This song starts with the band the same note 8 times before the band come in also on the 8th note the drummer does a short fill. The song is played in a moderate tempo. The drum plays snare on all four beats of the bar which is a common thing in motown music. This song is a love song about a woman named Bernadette. This song is played on a minor key which gives the listener a feeling that it’s not a celebratory song. The song is played at a high tempo which gives the listener a reason to dance. In Bernadette there is a lead singer and a choir in the background not singing lyrics most of the time but they are humming. One the odd occasion the choir will sing Bernadette. The

Samuel Jinadu

Music Homework

instruments used are the bass guitar, drum kit, the vocalists and the trumpet. I dislike this song because it’s in a minor key. Mr Postman- Marvelettes Mr Postman played in a major key so it gives the listener will feel that the song is a happy son. The song is playing a swinging beat. This type of beat gets the listener to dance. The chorus is very catchy and repetitive. There is a choir in the background singing non lyrical sounds. The instruments played in this song are the piano, vocalists, bass guitar and drum kit. I like this song because of its swinging drum beat. The vocals in this song are very melismatic and the singer does many adlibs....